Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
My daughter has been working through the ARTistic Pursuits, Middle School 6-8 Book Two, The Elements of Color and Composition, from Artistic Pursuits Inc. over the past weeks. The intended age for this particular book is 11 and up. The book provides lessons for the completion of 68 colored pastel drawing projects. An in depth study of the color wheel and pastels will be the central focus. Students will produce their own original artwork. The lessons are written to engage both the beginner as well as the advanced, more experienced artist in mind. Students will be able to work independently without any parental involvement. Students are able to be creative as they chose their subject and environment for each project as they are introduced to hatching, blending, frottage, and compositional topics such as rhythm, points of view and emphasis. There are a total of 16 units in ARTistic Pursuits, Middle School Book Two.
THE MYSTERIOUS LANGUAGE OF COLOR
1. Learn the rules of color using the color wheel.
2. See color variations and color mixtures.
3. Exaggerate colors.
The 16 Units of study are:
- Hue and Intensity
- Primary and Secondary
- Monocrome
- Complementary Pairs
- Neutrals
- Warm Analogous Colors
- Cool Analogous Colors
- Color Application
- Balance in Color
- Parallel Rhythm
- Converging Rhythm
- Space with Little Depth
- Depth
- Viewpoint, Low
- Viewpoint, High
- Emphasis
Each Unit has 4 lessons and introduces a new art concept. For example, Unit 2, Primary and Secondary, introduces the primary and secondary colors, the color wheel, and intermediate colors. Every unit has an objective. The objective for Unit 2 is, "To encourage a sense of discovery in using the new medium of pastels, while gaining inspiration from new surroundings." It talks about being creative and we do that by discovering along the way. Students have to be bold. Students will be using pastels in this unit. Aristotle said, "What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing." For Lesson 1, students are tasked to go outside and find something that catches your eye and draw it.
Lesson 2 entitled, Look at Secondary Colors in Art, students are introduced to Frank Marc and his piece of art entitled Red Deer II, 1912. Marc was a German Expressionist Painter. There are two sections entitled, The Artist, which of course talks about the artist and then, The Culture, which talk about the culture surrounding art during that time. Did you know that under Nazi occupation, German artists who used bright colors were labeled degenerates? In Lesson 2 students are given a challenge. Students using pastels are to draw an object that uses primary colors and secondary colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel. They are then to layer the colors. There are a few more requirements but this is the main point of the lesson.
Lesson 3 is entitled, How to Layer Pastels. It pretty much sums up what the lesson is about. Students then go on to do their project using the skills learned in this lesson as well as blending.
Lesson 4 is kind of the final project. It is entitled, The Project. For this particular project the student is asked to draw a picture in pastel using a photograph as reference. Off to the side it shows the materials that are needed to complete the project. Below the project there is a Student Gallery example project piece done by a student for reference. At the bottom of the page is a box entitled, Look Back! In the box it says, "Did you use primary or secondary colors in the drawing? Among those learned so far, which techniques for drawing in pastel did you use in this drawing?"
That sums up a Unit. Of course each unit will be unique and slightly different.
Some of the artists that the students will learn and study about throughout Book Two are:
- Paul Gauguin
- Edgar Degas
- Katsushika Hokusai
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Jean-Louis Forain
- Paul Cezanne
- Gustave Caillebotte
- Edouard Vuillard
- Frederic Bazille
- Utagawa Hiroshige
In the first 8 units of ARTistic Pursuits, Color and Composition students will use hard pastels. Soft pastels can be used with them. Pastel pencils can be used since they are the same material. Pastel pencils are good for line work but have limited color range.
Here are some of my daughters drawings!
Students are taught how to use the different surfaces of the hard pastel to
make darker and lighter colors. Using the blunt end makes medium sized marks.
Dragging the broad side across the paper makes thick marks. They are told
how to use a kneading eraser to soften lines and lift pigment.
Here my daughter is blending. Students are given the choice of using
their finger to blend or using a tool called a paper stump. We did
have a paper stump but she liked using her finger better.
Students are taught how to blend and layer colors.
Here my daughter is doing a monochrome project. A monochrome color
scheme uses mostly one color.
Oil pastels are used in the last eight units. They cannot be used with
other types of pastels effectively.
Be sure to check out what my fellow Crew Review Members had to to say about ARTistic Pursuits, Middle School 6-8 Book Two, The Elements of Color and Composition and many other Artistic Pursuits curriculum reviewed. My daughter really enjoyed working through the lessons in Book Two, The Elements of Color and Composition. She learned so many art techniques but also learned so much about many artists and art culture and history. I would definitely recommend Artisitic Pursuits to parents and educators looking for a solid art program. Parents that homeschool, this is a great curriculum that enables the student to learn on their own. No teacher planning or teaching involved. Simply purchase the supplies needed for the course your child is taking and let them go!
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